SHOYO

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Diplomatic row after Shoyo was requested to stop activities

Tokyo on Feb 20, 2012, lodged a protest with Beijing after an "unaccepable" request to stop conducting marine research was issued to the "Shoyo" which was operating in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The government told China via diplomatic channels that they were conducting legitimate marine research within theor EEZ and the activity could not be halted. A Chinese government vessel had radioed the "Shoyo" and called on it to stop its activities at around 7:20 p.m. on Feb 19 when the ship was studying crustal structures about 170 km north-northwest of Kumejima Island in Okinawa. The "Shoyo" replied via radio that the research was legitimate and conducted within Japan's EEZ. The Chinese ship continued to make the request for about 20 minutes.

SHOYO 9203019

A Chinese marine research vessel chased the “Shoyo” in Japan's exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, about 320 kilometers northwest of Amami Oshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, on May 3, 2010. A crewmember of the Chinese ship, the 1,690-ton “Haijian 51”, demanded via VHF that the “Shoyo” discontinued its marine survey, claiming that Chinese rules apply to the area. The “Haijian 51” pursued the “Shoyo” for about three hours from around 2 p.m. and came as close as one kilometer to the Japanese vessel at one point, forcing the JCG to discontinue its survey mission. The Foreign Ministry protested the incident to the Chinese government May 4, claiming that the JCG boat was legally operating in Japan's EEZ.